xiii, 220 p. : 24 cm

Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-213) and index

Leeuwenhoek discovers a new galaxy of organisms -- The microbial kingdom has many subjects -- Some microbes prefer life without air -- Important molecules in microbes, plants, and animals -- Where do microbes come from? -- How microbes are isolated and identified -- The care and feeding of microbes -- Hardy survivors in the microbial kingdom -- Microbes and the carbon cycle -- Bacteria that produce and use methane -- Microbes recycle nitrogen -- Bacteria spin the sulfur cycle -- Extraordinary ecology: an amazing diversity of life styles -- Fungi -- Bioenergetics: "energy currency" -- The roles of vitamins -- Microbes and sewage treatment -- Infectious diseases: history of the "germ theory" -- Three giants of infectious disease research: Pasteur, Koch, and Jenner -- Infection and immunity -- Viruses confound microbe hunters -- Killing unwanted microbes -- The central role of DNA: new vistas in microbial biotechnology -- Microbes: Earth's first inhabitants

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